Wade Henderson, President and CEO of The Leadership Conference and the Joseph L. Rauh, Jr. Chair of Public Interest Law, was quoted in The Chicago Tribune and The Root on a report released by the U.S. Department of Education that says African American students, particularly males, are far more likely to be suspended or expelled from school than their peers.

"We applaud the Department of Education for collecting and releasing this data – which points to mass and systemic discrimination in our public education system,” said Wade Henderson, head of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition of 200 groups.

Henderson made his comments in a prepared statement, adding: "With this knowledge comes the responsibility for the department to investigate school districts that may be in violation of federal civil rights law and take appropriate enforcement action.”